craigjf1969 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Hi all,thinking of removing the squier logo from my VMJ and either leaving it blank or maybe putting a custom one on..but what would be the best way to remove it and what finish is on these headstocks anyway because they dont look very lacquered,,cheers Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 I removed a Squier logo with sand paper, after having taken off the tuners and string tree of course. Started with a medium grade and moved through to a fine finish prior to applying lacquer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigjf1969 Posted March 6, 2012 Author Share Posted March 6, 2012 [i]yeh,but i am thinking that if i sand it down,i will have to do the whole of the neck and not just the face of the headstock?????...and as i said it doesnt appear to be lacquered now..or is it a kind of "matt" finish??[/i] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Just leave it alone, unless you want to spend loads of time matching the quality and colour of the original finish with what looks like a satin lacquer.!Time and money could be best spent on a new set of strings, no-one's bothered if it says "Squier" and when you come to sell it a no-name could be worth less..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftyhook Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 (edited) [quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1331070418' post='1567310'] Just leave it alone, unless you want to spend loads of time matching the quality and colour of the original finish with what looks like a satin lacquer.!Time and money could be best spent on a new set of strings, no-one's bothered if it says "Squier" and when you come to sell it a no-name could be worth less..... [/quote] as far as selling it, to prove its not a plank of wood dressed up. leave the Squier logo on the back of the neck. yeah, hard to match the finish. i did it then thought " why?" if you insist, mine came off no bother with fine grade wire wool. Edited March 6, 2012 by leftyhook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 [quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1331070418' post='1567310'] Just leave it alone, unless you want to spend loads of time matching the quality and colour of the original finish with what looks like a satin lacquer.!Time and money could be best spent on a new set of strings, no-one's bothered if it says "Squier" and when you come to sell it a no-name could be worth less..... [/quote] I'd just finish the face of the headstock with a nitro lacquer, like a 70's fender - nitro face to the headstock with poly elsewhere on the neck. It'll age differently and ends up looking cool. As long as you don't sell it first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 (edited) I would also question why you deem it necessary to go to all this trouble. If it's just a vanity thing (and you may have other reasons - see below) then seriously, I wouldn't bother devaluing your bass in this way. While this might be the last bass you ever own, as your sig says you own three already then I would guess your GAS won't stop here and there will come a time when you want to sell it. I've only done it once - but it was to remove the whole headstock finish rather than a specific requirement to get rid of the Squier logo. It was a silver headstock on a neck which would have looked great on the matching silver body but the body was ... blue. It really wasn't working for me so I removed all the finish from the front of the headstock. I sanded it down to the bare wood with appropriate grades of sandpaper. When I refinished, I masked off the edges and just re-lacquered the front face. Edges were a little rough feeling where the lacquer may have formed a slight ridge along the edge of the masking tape, but they were easily (but carefully) smoothed off. Being a bitsa bass, the whole devaluing thing had already been done quite some time ago I should point out that I put a highly amusing "Fecker Imprecision Bass" logo on it, not a Fender one. No wool being pulled over anyone's eyes here. Edited March 7, 2012 by neepheid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnus x-1 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 IMO 99% of the audience won't know or won't care what it says on the headstock, the other 1%, bass players and musicians judge you on your sound and your playing. Play a Squier with pride. I saw a band about a month ago, bassist was using a Fender Jazz (USA I think), for a couple of songs he changed to what looked to me to be a Westfield Precision copy, thing was, nobody to my knowledge noticed (same colour basses) and more importantly they both sounded good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Don't do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Don't think he was asking about the rights and wrongs of doing it. Just some advice on how to do it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 (edited) [quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1331075397' post='1567408'] Don't think he was asking about the rights and wrongs of doing it. Just some advice on how to do it. [/quote] Indeed. Stick what you like on there or nothing at all. Entirely your choice. If it's anything like the 'Standard' Squiers, it's just printed on the surface over the satin finish. If so, it'll come off with a bit of fine wire wool, like very gently rubbing out a pencil mark with an eraser. Of course, it may be entirely different, in which case you're slightly f***ed and should proceed as described by posters above. Edited March 7, 2012 by skankdelvar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 [quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1331075397' post='1567408'] Don't think he was asking about the rights and wrongs of doing it. Just some advice on how to do it. [/quote] That's never stopped us in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 [quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1331072098' post='1567350'] I would also question why you deem it necessary to go to all this trouble. If it's just a vanity thing (and you may have other reasons - see below) then seriously, I wouldn't bother devaluing your bass in this way. While this might be the last bass you ever own, as your sig says you own three already then I would guess your GAS won't stop here and there will come a time when you want to sell it. [/quote] On the contrary - I think even if people know it's not a Fender they won't be put off that the Squier logo is missing ! I know for the same price i'd rather have something that says Fender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hutton Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 (edited) Who knows? These VMJ Squiers may be commanding large prices in 30 years time. If the logo has been changed it may devalue the bass. The market is a strange thing at the best of times. On the other hand it's your bass so I say do what you like with it. Mind you they do say you should play your Squier with pride. I just don't know. If it was mine I would leave it the way it is. But it's not mine so go ahead and change it with all the blessings of the decal gods. I should get the prize for the most unhelpful post ever! Edited March 7, 2012 by Hutton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 [quote name='Hutton' timestamp='1331116499' post='1567756'] Who knows? These VMJ Squiers may be commanding large prices in 30 years time. If the logo has been changed it may devalue the bass. The market is a strange thing at the best of times. On the other hand it's your bass so I say do what you like with it. Mind you they do say you should play your Squier with pride. I just don't know. If it was mine I would leave it the way it is. But it's not mine so go ahead and change it with all the blessings of the decal gods. I should get the prize for the most unhelpful post ever! [/quote] No, I think I can win that award - by merely pointing out that he would have to keep his bass for 30 years. Which would be a mircale, given the pervading influence of Basschat and it's For Sale section Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckstop Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Quite. How many 'keepers' has everyone had? I've had 3 (but I still own one of them!). Anyway, VMJ decals I believe are just printed on over the finish (as His Right Venerable Sir Lord Earl Skank D Var rightfully pointed out), so again, a little wirewool should do the trick. Maybe some T-Cut too? Hopefully the headstock finish hasnt aged enough to show a massive difference in colour where the decal orginally was! Truckstop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlloyd Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 As long as the custom decal doesn't say Fender, fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I'm indifferent to what people put on their headstock, it's your bass... If you want to put a Fender decal on it its up to you. If you try and then sell it as a Fender that is a different matter entirely! The Squier logo is just printed over the poly finish on the VM series I believe so you should be able to get it off without going down to the wood. incidentally, the old Fenders are Nitro laquered, then the decal added, then the face of the headstock given a few more coats - which is why they always look more orange than the rest of the neck. So if you want to just remove the Squier logo from the front (I would recommend leaving the serial number on the back) T-cut should do it, wire wool faster, sanding = overkill! If you then wish to add any decal of our choosing, just mask the rest of the neck off and give it a few coats of laquer over the top. If you use Nitro it will age nicely but remember that the rest of the neck will not age as it is poly so it will probably look as anemic as the day it was bought in 30 years time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigjf1969 Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 [quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1331075397' post='1567408'] Don't think he was asking about the rights and wrongs of doing it. Just some advice on how to do it. [/quote]..........EXACTLY!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 (edited) [quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1331123605' post='1567969'] If you use Nitro it will age nicely but remember that the rest of the neck will not age as it is poly so it will probably look as anemic as the day it was bought in 30 years time. [/quote] Bit like many 70's Fenders. Think David Dickinson stood next to Lily Cole. So a 70's Fender logo should do the job nicely if nitro's the way the OP goes. Edited March 8, 2012 by skankdelvar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metissekit Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Hi if anyone reads this in 2017, Squier decals are removable EASILY with nail varnish remover....100%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 thats cos spraying and polishing over it costs time and money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles'tone Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Modern Squier headstocks are shorter than a Fender's. They look a little 'snub nosed' to me. A Fender decal won't change that. I like my headstocks blank personally. My mate's got custom decals on his basses with his kids names on. Nice personal touch for himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 (edited) When I've removed decals I always use a blade from a Stanley knife. Just hold the blade flats against the surface and scrape. This way you simply remove the raised ink on the surface. You still need to respray though. Edited January 17, 2017 by Grangur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 [quote name='dlloyd' timestamp='1331122493' post='1567937'] As long as the custom decal doesn't say Fender, fine. [/quote] THAT! There are so many fake/counterfeit "Fender"s around, selling with a "Fender" logo is dishonest, just waiting for some poor mug to buy one thinking they've got the real thing. (I also think Fender have muddied the waters a bit by branding Squiers as "Squier by Fender", so that people can advertise them as Fenders.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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